Raymond Keene

Gelfand’s hat trick

issue 13 July 2013

As previously reported, 45-year-old Boris Gelfand, the oldest player in the tournament, convincingly won the Tal Memorial in Moscow. This week’s game was Gelfand’s third and final win against the American grandmaster who had been his chief rival for top honours. Commendably, Gelfand sought early complications with a sharp line of the Sicilian Defence which had the instant effect of unbalancing the situation, thus increasing the probability of a decisive outcome.

Nakamura-Gelfand: Tal Memorial, Moscow 2013; Sicilian Defence

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 e5 The key move of the Sveshnikov Variation. Black weakens the d5-square but gains time by hunting White’s king’s knight around the board.

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